The parashah Vayishlach continues the story of Jacob and his family after their escape from Haran and ends with the death of Isaac. Jacob also receives a new name there., Israel, after wrestling with an angel on the way.  

Jacob stayed in Haran for 22 years (and we will return to this number, 22 years, later on). The sale of Joseph In a few weeks, he will return to his homeland with his wives, children, and livestock, which he acquired in Haran, and will meet his nemesis, his twin brother Esau.

Even after 22 years, Jacob is still afraid of Esau and angry at him because of Receiving Isaac's blessings by deception By Jacob, an act that led to Jacob's flight to Haran. Jacob decides to initiate a meeting between himself and Esau, and sends messengers to inform him that he is returning from Haran. The messengers inform him that Esau is on his way to meet him with four hundred men. Jacob is anxious about the meeting and prepares for it.

Rashi He describes the preparations as follows: "He prepared himself for three things: toDoron, toPrayer, andwar"The gift and the prayer are explicitly stated in the text, and the preparation for war is learned from the words "and the remaining camp shall be saved." Jacob prepares a gift for Esau and sends it ahead with his servants, and crosses the Jabbok with his camp.

After making preparations, Jacob meets with Esau. During their meeting, Esau shows signs of brotherly love toward Jacob, embracing and kissing him, and both of them weep. After Jacob's entreaties, Esau accepts his gift and invites him to visit him at his home – the land of Mount Seir. Jacob refuses, and Esau goes on his way.

The reconciliation appears to be genuine, since at the end of the parashah, upon Isaac's death, it is stated, "And Esau and Jacob, his sons, buried him." They buried him together, and Esau (the firstborn) was again given precedence over Jacob.

Later in the story, Dinah, Jacob's daughter, goes out to see the women of the land., kidnapped andraped By Shechem, son of Hamor הHivi Described in the Bible as 'the president of the land":

And Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, and took her, and lay with her, and violated her. And his soul was drawn to Dinah, Jacob's daughter, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her. And Shechem said to his father Hamor, saying, "Get me this girl as a wife.".

Jacob hears about the deed and remains silent, but when his sons hear about it, they react with great sadness and anger. After the deed, Hamor and Shechem come and ask for their consent to Shechem's marriage to Dinah. Jacob's sons make their consent conditional onword of all the city's residents, who rush to fulfill the request at the encouragement of Hamor and Shechem. On the third day, they go out Shimon andLevi Jacob's sons go to the city, kill all its inhabitants, rescue Dinah, andlooters the city. Jacob criticizes the act of Shimon and Levi, claiming that the people of the country may now gather and kill him and his family.

His sons answer him: "The whore will do our sister.".

The brothers' apparent concern for their sister's honor stands in stark contrast to The disappearance of Dina The continuation of the story of Jacob's family.  

The biblical number moves in circles, and in the story of Shechem, the question of theCollective punishment which appeared just two weeks ago in the story of Sodom, in an event that takes place near the fear of an act revenge I have information about an event that took place 22 years ago.

How is collective punishment justified in the story of Dinah? As Ramban asks: "And how did the righteous sons of Jacob do this thing, shedding innocent blood?"?

הRambam Justifies the actions of Shimon and Levi by saying: "And because of this, all the men of Shechem were liable to death, for Shechem had stolen, And they saw, and they knew, and they did not judge him."Those who remain silent about a despicable act – partner.

The Ramban disagrees with the Rambam, and believes that "it is not up to Jacob and his sons to judge them." In his opinion, Jacob's sons believed that they were permitted to kill the people of Shechem because they were wicked. Jacob told them that they "had committed violence against the people of the city" because they had violated the agreement made in his presence, and perhaps the people of Shechem would have returned to God, "and they killed them for no reason, because they had done them no harm.".

הMaharal – Believes that Jacob's sons were "permitted to take revenge on them" because they had committed "a despicable act.".

In my opinion, all commentators express discomfort with the actions of Shimon and Levi. Even those who find reasons to justify it need arguments to explain an act that is, on the face of it, inappropriate. This also corresponds to the fate of the two extreme fathers. Shimon and Levi Subsequently, their descendants were excluded from the Jewish people – the tribe of Simeon disappeared early in history, and the tribe of Levi became a tribe of sacred vessels who are not full partners in the audience. Even if their behavior was technically "legal," the opinion of the history of the Jewish people is not comfortable with it.

The parashah Vayishlach continues the process of Jacob's rectification of his actions in his father's house, a rectification that began with his long exile in Haran. If, in his flight, his actions, Esau says And Jacob did this twice. and connects the root of his brother's name heel To deceive him, the angel calls him Israel from the root straight Describing his great correction. The continuation of his actions toward Esau while cooling the enmity between them, and his anger at Shimon and Levi The fact that the people of Shechem were deceived represents this correction. His experiences in this episode and the rest of his life show how easy it is to destroy and how difficult it is to repair.

Shabbat Shalom!